President Obama Signs Law Banning Cell Phones in Prisons

President Barack Obama recently signed Bill S. 1749, which bans prisoners from having cell phones, into law. The law was approved by both the Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this year. In addition to making it illegal to have a cell phone in a prison, the law also makes it illegal to smuggle a cell phone into a prison. If caught, cell phone smugglers could themselves wind up in jail for a year. The Federal Bureau of Prisons said that it confiscated about 3,200 cell phones from prisoners last year. The law also mandates that the government circle back a year from now to see how effective the law is in its first year of enforcement.